The present invention relates generally to electrified trains and more specifically to a power management system for the batteries on the cars of an electrified train with electro-pneumatic brakes.
The introduction of electro-pneumatically (EP) operated brake systems into the railroad industry has placed an increased demand for electrical power on the locomotive. In freight trains with over one hundred cars, the power requirement is substantial. Even in the battery operated systems, the power required to keep the batteries fully charged can range from 1.0 kW to 3.0 kW, or more, as new features are added to the system. This power is typically taken from the locomotive's low voltage battery/power supply (75VDC) system. Many older locomotives do not have this additional power available and even though the newer locomotives may have the increased power capacity, much of this power is not available for operating "EP" brakes because of the increased number of electrical and electronic devices currently being installed on modern locomotives.
Thus, there is a need to allocate the electrical power available on a train or consist while maintaining the safety of the electrically operated equipment.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of allocating power on an electrified train.
Another object of the present invention is to maintain sufficient power in each car of the train to safely operate the train.
These and other objects are achieved by determining which batteries on the cars of the train have a voltage level below a first value and determining the available power at the locomotive. Then the local batteries are selectively charged from the locomotive based on the available power at the locomotive. The value or the degree of the battery voltage below the first value is determined and priority is set for charging the local batteries. Although preferably, each car requests authorization to charge, a polling of the monitored voltage levels of the batteries at each car may be conducted.
The apparatus required to perform the method is a master controller at the locomotive and local controllers at each car. The local controller monitors the voltage level of its local battery and communicates with the master controller. The master controller uses the information of voltage levels, number of requests and available power and selectively communicates with each of the individual cars to allow the local controllers to charge from the power lines based on available power. For a priority value, the local controller can initiate charging without authorization from the master controller. The cars are interconnected by a trainline which includes power lines. The communication may be transmitted over the power lines or separate communication lines in the trainline.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.